Dragons of the Sea and Treachery
by NightFuryofGallifrey
Summary: New dragons arrive on the coast of Berk. People and dragons start falling mysteriously ill... and a new danger threatens them all. Set around five years after the HTTYD movie. Rated T for character injury, possible death and battle. Nothing overly graphic or suggestive, and no coarse language.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Hey everyone! This is my first full-length fanfic. I've already finished writing it, but I'll edit the chapters before posting. I'm going to try to post one every couple of days, but if that gets too much, I'll back it down to one a week. Rated T for character injury, possible death and battle. Nothing too graphic, nothing suggestive and no coarse language. Enjoy!**

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**Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from the How to Train Your Dragon movie or TV show. I do have a handful of OC's that are mine. So basically, if you recognize the character, it's not mine. :P**

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CHAPTER ONE

Hiccup stifled a yawn and held up the finished product to the rays of the rising sun streaming through the windows of Gobber's workshop. He smiled to himself. _Perfect._

A _thump_ came from the roof and a moment later, a black dragon jumped down in front of the window. Hiccup smiled. "Morning, Toothless."

Toothless groaned his reply, and dropped a bundle of leather and harnesses on the ground. Hiccup yawned and smiled again. "Ready for our morning ride?" He slipped the item he had been making into his pocket, put his tools back in their places and stepped outside.

He scratched Toothless on the forehead, stifling another yawn. Toothless looked at him quizzically.

"Yes, I stayed here all night," Hiccup said, picking up the harness and started strapping it on Toothless.

Toothless rumbled.

"And no, I'm not going to tell you what I was working on. It's a surprise." Hiccup secured the last strap and mounted the Night Fury.

The two friends took off. They soared in and out between the towering rock formations dotted around the coast of Berk. Hiccup nudged Toothless to go down closer to the water. They skimmed along the surface, the wind blowing the mist from the sea into Hiccup's face.

Hiccup reached down with his hand and splashed up a little water at Toothless. The dragon growled playfully. Hiccup laughed. Toothless turned sharply, dumping his rider into the freezing cold water, then crashing into the sea himself.

Hiccup came up sputtering and laughing. Toothless grinned at him, then smacked a wing down on the water, further soaking Hiccup. Hiccup laughed again and tried to wipe the water away. He raised a hand to splash Toothless back, when something scaly brushed up against his leg.

Hiccup looked down into the water. He caught a glimpse of a large black shadow… "Toothless…?"

Toothless dived towards Hiccup. An ugly, gray-green head broke the surface of the water, its razor sharp teeth bared. Hiccup grabbed Toothless' saddle. Toothless leapt out of the water, and flapped his wings, trying to keep in the air. Hiccup swung himself onto the Night Fury's back, and inserted his metal leg into the stirrup. The prosthetic tail fin on Toothless' tail opened, and rider and dragon soared up into the sky.

They circled above the creature in the water, staring at it. It shrieked, whether as a warning to stay away, or disappointment of loosing its prey, Hiccup didn't know. The creature dived under the water, its long neck never seeming to end.

Hiccup clung to Toothless. "I've never seen that before," he whispered. "What is it?"

Toothless moaned, shaking his head as if to indicate he didn't know.

Another gray shape broke the water's surface. Two, three, four of the sea creatures swam around, shrieking. The water rolled off their heads in a greenish color.

Hiccup stared at them, then looked back to Toothless. "Let's go back home. We need to let Dad know about these."

#

Toothless landed next to Hiccup's house. Hiccup dismounted. "Be right back, bud." He turned and ran inside the house. "Dad?" Hiccup called. No one answered. Hiccup looked around, but no one was inside.

He ran back outside. "He must be at the Great Hall," he said to Toothless. He stopped. Astrid and Stormfly stood next to the Night Fury. "Uh, hi, Astrid." He slipped his hand into his pocket, fingering the object inside.

Astrid raised an eyebrow. "What happened to you?"

Hiccup looked down at himself. "Oh, yeah. Uh, Toothless sorta... dumped me into the water while we were out flying."

Astrid looked at Toothless and laughed.

Hiccup curled his fist around the object in his pocket. "Um, Astrid, I need to, uh, ask you something."

"Okay." She tucked a section of her golden hair behind her ear, looking at Hiccup with curiosity. "What is it?"

"Um, well..."

The roar of a Monstrous Nightmare split the air, cutting off Hiccup's unfinished sentence. Snotlout landed Hookfang next to Stormfly and Toothless, Fishlegs and his dragon Meatlug and the twins Ruffnut and Tuffnut and their Zippleback right behind him.

"Hey, Astrid. Hiccup," Snotlout said, dismounting his dragon and standing beside Astrid. "What's up?"

"Nothing," Hiccup said, a little too quickly.

"Actually, I think Hiccup was asking me something," Astrid said, turning back to face him.

Hiccup felt his face grow warm. _Not really the best of times, Astrid. _"Oh, yeah. I, uh, um, was wondering if you, er, wanted to go, uh, flying with me later today."

"_Just_ you and Astrid?" Ruffnut asked.

"By yourselves?" Tuffnut smirked.

Ruffnut smacked him. "That's what I said, dummy."

"Uh, no," Hiccup stammered. "I mean, Toothless will be there too."

The twins snickered. Fishlegs raised an eyebrow. Snotlout glowered. Astrid glared at the others, then smiled at Hiccup. "Sure. I'd love to." With another glare at the others, she mounted Stormfly and took off.

Hiccup stared after Astrid for a moment until he realized the others were still staring at him. Face burning, he mounted Toothless. "Uh, see you guys later."

Toothless took off, and Hiccup reached his hand into his pocket. He sighed.

They landed outside the Great Hall. Hiccup slipped out of the saddle. "Back in a minute."

He ran up the stairs and opened the doors. Sure enough, Stoick and Gobber sat at one of the tables, deep in discussion.

"Dad!" Hiccup hurried over to them.

Both men looked up. Stoick stared at Hiccup's wet and bedraggled figure. "Um, good morning, son?"

"What happened to you?" Gobber asked. "You look like you got dumped in the sea off the back of a dragon and then nearly attacked by a second dragon."

"Um. That sort of is what happened..." Hiccup said.

Stoick raised an eyebrow.

"Well, Toothless and I were flying over the cove and skimming the water. I splashed Toothless and he... dumped me."

Stoick burst out laughing. "Oh, Toothless."

Toothless purred, a mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Dad, I wasn't really trying to encourage that," Hiccup said.

"Well, as long as it's not me, I can laugh about it." Stoick winked.

"He's got a point, Hiccup," Gobber said. "It is rather funny when you think about it."

"I'm trying not to," Hiccup mumbled. "Anyway, I came here to tell you something."

"I'm listening," Stoick said.

"When Toothless, uh, dumped me, I saw a dragon in the water, a kind I've never seen before," Hiccup said.

"What did it look like?" Gobber asked.

"Well, I didn't quite get a good look until after Toothless and I took off. It attacked me- but I'm fine," Hiccup added, seeing the concerned look on his father's face. "It was really long, with greenish gray scales. It had long sharp teeth. There were at least four of the dragons, maybe more."

Stoick leaned back in his chair. "Well, you're the dragon trainer. What do you propose?"

"Tomorrow I'd like to go back down to the cove and make more observations. Maybe then we can figure out a way to train them."

Stoick nodded. "Sounds fine to me." He paused. "Just wondering though, why not today? Usually you would want to get to know the dragons as soon as possible."

Hiccup felt his face grow warm. "Uhh..." He glanced over at Toothless. "I'm going for a ride... with Astrid."

Stoick smiled. "Ah."

Gobber thumped his hand on the table. "Well, Stoick, I'd better be going." He nodded to Hiccup. "Good luck with those dragons."

"Thanks," Hiccup said.

"We'll follow you out," Stoick said.

The three men exited the Great Hall, stepping into the bright morning sunlight.

Hiccup looked into the sky, watching the dragons with their riders soaring through the air. His gaze settled on one dragon, or rather her rider, and he stared at Astrid, watching her and Stormfly's every move.

"Hiccup?"

Hiccup looked over at his father, who watched his son carefully, his eyebrow raised.

Hiccup felt his face grow warm again. "Um, yes?"

Stoick smiled. "What were you staring at?"

"I think we all know well enough," Gobber said. He winked. "And you might as well stop staring like a lost, lovesick puppy and do something about it."

Hiccup reached into his pocket and squeezed the item within. He glanced over at his father, who smiled knowingly, a look of pride in his eyes. "Go on, son. I'll see you at the house."

Hiccup nodded, waved to Gobber and ran over to Toothless. "C'mon, bud." He swung up into the saddle and Night Fury and rider took off into the sky.

They flew up next to Astrid. "Hey, Astrid, wanna take that ride now?" Hiccup asked.

Astrid looked over and shrugged. "Sure." She nudged Stormfly to hover next to Toothless. She stood up on the Nadder's back and jumped. She landed behind Hiccup, and sat down, wrapping her arms around him.

Hiccup started and turned to look at her.

Astrid grinned. "Hi."

"Show off."

"You would have done the same thing," Astrid pointed out.

Hiccup paused. "Okay, maybe I would have, fine."

Astrid smiled and looked over at Stormfly. "See you in a bit, girl!"

Stormfly nodded and flew off. Another Nadder flew up beside her and they flew away.

"Who's that?" Hiccup asked. He nudged Toothless and he started flying away from the main village on Berk and towards the coast.

"That's Flamestone," Astrid replied. "Stormfly and him..." She trailed off and smiled.

"Oh," Hiccup said. "Well, good for her."

"Hiccup, do you think Toothless ever gets... lonely?"

Hiccup frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, he's the only Night Fury on Berk, and the only one we know of. There might not even be any more Night Furies."

Hiccup frowned and looked down at his dragon. Toothless seemed to be ignoring them. "Toothless?" he asked.

Toothless turned his ear up towards Hiccup.

"Do you?"

Toothless turned his ear down and moaned.

Hiccup placed a hand on Toothless' shoulder. "I'm sorry, bud. I never thought about that."

Toothless shook his head, as if indicating he didn't care.

For a while the three were silent, drifting through the clouds above the sea. Astrid leaned her head against Hiccup's back. Hiccup glanced back at her, then placed a hand in his pocket. _Now's your chance..._ he told himself.

He took a deep breath, then paused. He shook his head. _No, now's not a good time._

Hiccup toyed with the object in his pocket. _But who knows when there'll be another time?_ He sighed, and took another deep breath. "Astrid?"

"Yes?"

"Umm, well, I was wondering, if, um, maybe..."

The shriek of a furious dragon split the air. Cries of terrified children joined in, coming from the coast near the place Hiccup had seen the sea dragons.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N:** Eep. Soooo. Yeah. I'm really really really sorry for not updating in forever! I had no idea how long it had been. O.o Seriously though, people, please pester me when I take more than a week to upload. I've got the story all written, I'm just editing it before posting it. I really do not mind if you pester me. Send me a message, leave me a review, or something. I do not mind at all if you bug me. :P So please do.

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**Disclaimer: **Again with the me not owning the characters, unless you don't recognize them. There's a handful of OCs in this chapter, so yeah.

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CHAPTER TWO

Hiccup pulled his hand out of his pocket and turned Toothless towards the noise. Astrid tightened her grip around Hiccup's waist.

They came down from above the clouds and looked down at the beach. A Viking boy who looked about 13 years old and two younger children stood in a boat about a mile from shore, fishing gear scattered around them inside the boat. Three sea dragons swam around the boat, roaring and hissing.

"Toothless, go in!" Hiccup nudged his dragon forward. Toothless started moving before the command was all the way out of Hiccup's mouth.

Toothless shot a burst of blue flame in the water near the sea dragons. The dragons looked up and hissed, turning their attention towards the Night Fury.

"Toothless and I will draw the dragons away," Hiccup shouted to Astrid. "You go with the others and get back to shore."

Toothless flew down towards the boat long enough for Astrid to jump. When her arms let go of Hiccup, he felt like a part of him let go. He looked down to make sure she made it to the boat, then turned his attention back to the dragons.

One of them reared up its head, then lashed out at Toothless. The Night Fury dodged, circling around it to make it angry. It worked, and the irritated and dizzy sea dragon lashed out at him again.

But Toothless and Hiccup were already out of its reach, dancing in and out of the dragons.

Hiccup nudged Toothless to fly out of the dragons' reach, then looked over at the boat. Astrid had taken command and the boat grew smaller as they rowed towards shore.

One of the dragons noticed its prey was escaping, and turned away from Toothless and Hiccup, swimming towards the boat.

Hiccup nudged Toothless and they sped towards the dragon. They got in between the dragon and the boat, hovering just out of its reach, trying to draw its attention back to them.

The dragon didn't appear to be interested anymore. Hiccup glanced over at the boat. Another hundred feet and they would be safe.

"Toothless, fire!" Hiccup commanded. Toothless obeyed, sending a shot into the water directly in front of the dragon. The dragon reared back and hissed. It opened its mouth, but instead of sending a burst of flame like Hiccup expected, it let out a greenish gas.

Toothless dived away from the cloud. "Down to the boat!" Hiccup cried.

The Night Fury swooped low, coming up alongside the boat. "Astrid!" Hiccup called. "Have the children get on Toothless. I'll take them to shore."

The two youngest kids, a boy and a girl, scrambled over the fishing gear and over to the dragon. As soon as they were on, Toothless took off and flew towards the shore. He landed on the beach, and the kids scrambled off. "We'll be right back for you!" Hiccup shouted, then took off for the boat.

The three dragons surrounded the boat again, blocking them from making any more progress towards the beach. Astrid and the boy each took a fishing pole and waved it in the dragons' faces, trying to get them to back off.

Toothless and Hiccup swooped in. "Astrid!" Hiccup called.

Astrid shook her head. "Him next!"

"You, get on!" Hiccup shouted to the boy.

The boy dropped his poles and climbed onto Toothless. The Night Fury took off and shot towards the shore.

The only thing Hiccup could think of was he had to get back to Astrid.

They dropped the boy on the beach, spun around and headed back to the boat.

All three of the dragons closed in on Astrid. She whacked one on the snout with the pole. It reared back in anger, and opened its mouth.

Astrid jammed the pole in its jaws. The dragon pulled back, shaking its head back and forth. One of the other dragons slipped its long neck over the boat, looping around and drawing the noose.

The boat cracked.

Toothless swept in to pick up Astrid, but the third dragon lunged towards the Night Fury, teeth snapping. Toothless dodged to keep from being bitten.

Hiccup's palms were slick with sweat. He directed Toothless to come around the other side of the dragons and down towards the boat.

The first dragon snapped the pole and shrieking in anger, came down towards Astrid.

The boat cracked all the way, and Astrid fell into the water.

"Astrid!" Hiccup yelled.

He nudged Toothless and he dove down towards the water. Astrid broke the surface, gasping for air. She started swimming towards the shore.

One of the dragons dove under the water.

Toothless reached out and grabbed Astrid out of the water, just as a large jaw broke the surface and snapped closed on air.

Toothless flew towards the beach and lowered Astrid to the ground.

As soon as Toothless' paws hit the sand, Hiccup leapt out of the saddle and ran to Astrid.

"Astrid! Are you okay?" He collapsed down on the ground next to her, grabbing her shoulders and looking her in the eye.

She nodded, taking deep breaths. "Yeah." She looked up at Hiccup, and smiled. "Why do you look so worried? I'm always okay."

"I thought I was going to loose you," Hiccup whispered.

Astrid stared at Hiccup for a moment. Hiccup pulled her into his arms, not caring the slightest that she soaked him instantly.

"Hiccup," Astrid whispered into his ear. "The kids."

They pulled away from each other. Hiccup stood up and walked over to where the kids huddled together. He knelt down next to them. "Are you guys alright?"

They nodded. "Thank you, sir," The oldest looking boy whispered.

"We almost got eated." The little girl, a redhead, whimpered, then burst into tears.

"Hey, it's alright." Hiccup reached out and placed a hand on her back, drawing her closer to him. "It's okay. You're safe now."

The girl looked up into Hiccup's face, her blue eyes still welled with tears. "Bad dragons gone?" She whispered.

"Yes, the bad dragons are gone," Hiccup reassured. "You want to see my dragon? He's a nice dragon."

The girl hesitated a moment, then nodded.

Hiccup picked her up and carried her over to Toothless. She stared at the Night Fury wide-eyed.

"Here, hold out your hand like this," Hiccup said, taking the girl's still trembling hand and held it in front of Toothless' snout.

Toothless leaned forward and touched her hand. The girl giggled.

"You like him?" Hiccup asked. When she nodded, he continued, "His name is Toothless, and I'm Hiccup. What's your name?"

"Ro," she said. She looked over to where Astrid stood with the boys. "What's her name?"

"Her name is Astrid," Hiccup replied.

"Oh," Ro said. "She's pretty."

Hiccup looked over at Astrid and smiled. "Yeah. She is."

He turned back to Ro and set her down on the ground. She beamed up at Toothless, then ran over to the boys. Hiccup followed behind her. When he reached the group he realized Astrid was staring at him. "What?" he asked.

Astrid smiled. "I didn't know you were so good with kids."

Hiccup felt his face grow the slightest bit warm. "Oh, um. Yeah."

Astrid smiled at him again, then they turned back to the kids.

They looked up at Hiccup. "Thank you for saving us," the oldest, a boy with blond hair, said again.

Hiccup smiled. "You're welcome." He extended his hand. "I'm-"

"Hiccup." The boy interrupted. He smiled and shook Hiccup's hand. "We know. You wouldn't think we don't know our own chief's son?"

Hiccup smiled back. "Alright, well you know me. And your names are...?"

"I'm Davyn. This is my brother Aric." He gestured to the younger boy, a lad of about nine with blond hair and brown eyes like his older brother. "And my sister Rowan, though she goes by Ro."

Hiccup nodded. "Nice to meet you. What were you guys doing out there?"

Davyn looked out at the water and shuddered. "We were fishing, and all of a sudden those dragons showed up. Then you came and saved us."

Hiccup looked out at the water. The gentle lapping of the waves gave no indication of the fact that three children- and Astrid- almost lost their lives.

Hiccup paused. He stared out at the water. "Astrid, do you see that?"

She came up beside him. "See wha-" She stopped. "Wait, is that another boat?"

A boat with a large purple sail sat quite a ways offshore, nearly hidden behind the towering rock formations. While the Vikings stood watching, it turned and drifted away behind one of the formations.

Hiccup frowned. He didn't recognize the boat, but then again, he didn't know every boat on Berk like he did the dragons.

But if they had been from Berk, why didn't they help?

Astrid coughed.

Hiccup turned to her. She shivered.

"Astrid, we've got to get you back home," Hiccup said, mentally kicking himself for forgetting she was soaked. _What kind of boyfriend are you anyway?_ He scolded himself.

"I'm fine," Astrid said. She coughed again, then scowled.

"You're soaking wet," Hiccup said. "You need to get dried off." He turned to the kids. "Where do you three live?"

"About a mile and a half from here," Davyn replied.

"That far out from the village?" Astrid asked.

Davyn shrugged. "Yeah. We go into town twice a week for supplies."

Hiccup looked over at Toothless, trying to figure out how they were all getting home. "I don't think we'll all fit on Toothless," he said.

"Oh, no, sir, we can walk home," Davyn said. "We've troubled you enough already."

Astrid shook her head. "No, we want to make sure you make it home alright."

"But..." Davyn started, but Hiccup cut him off.

"We'll bring you home. And there's no need to call me sir. I'm Hiccup." Hiccup placed a hand on Toothless. "How many do you think you can carry at a time, bud?"

Toothless cocked his head to the side and rumbled.

"Why don't you take the kids," Astrid said. "I'll start walking and you can come pick me up."

Hiccup frowned. "But-"

"Hiccup," Astrid lowered her voice. "The kids are wet too. They need to get home."

Hiccup glanced back at the kids. He sighed. "Alright."

"Miss Astrid, you could start walking towards our place," Aric said. "It's that way." He pointed east. "And it's not too far. Mom can get you something warm to drink."

"I wouldn't want to intrude," Astrid started.

"I doubt she'll see the heroes who rescued her children as intruders," Davyn said. "She'd want you to come."

Astrid smiled. "Alright."

Hiccup lifted Ro and Aric up onto Toothless and gave Davyn a hand up. Before mounting, he turned back to Astrid. "I'll be back for you in a minute."

Astrid smiled. "Will you quit worrying about me? I just got a little wet. You were fine after your morning dip."

"Very funny," Hiccup said. "But I didn't like the look of that ship. I didn't recognize it."

"You don't know every ship on Berk though," Astrid pointed out.

"True, but if it was a friend, why didn't they come and help?"

Astrid shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe they tried but couldn't get there in time. Or maybe they didn't get there until after we made it to shore."

From up on Toothless, Davyn spoke up. "No, ma'am. That boat was there before we got here."

Astrid shrugged. "Okay. I'm sure it's nothing. Now go on. I'll start walking." She waved and started in the direction Aric pointed to.

Hiccup mounted Toothless. He lifted up Ro and put her on his lap. With a nudge from Hiccup, Toothless took into the air.

Hiccup glanced down at Astrid, who looked up, smiled and waved. He waved back, then she disappeared into the trees. "Which way, Davyn?" Hiccup asked.

Davyn gave directions and in five minutes they could see a little house next to a field. Smoke drifted from the chimney, speaking of warmth and friendliness.

Toothless landed and Hiccup helped the kids get down. "I'll be right back," he said. "You tell your mom we're coming."

The three kids nodded. Toothless jumped into the air again and turned back to the woods.

#

Astrid rubbed her arms to keep warm. The cold wind attacked her wet hair and clothes, raising goosebumps on her arms and sending her coughing.

A twig snapped. Astrid turned around and peered into the trees. "Anyone there?" she called.

No one answered. "Just an animal," Astrid muttered to herself. She picked up her pace a little bit more.

The silence in the forest unnerved her. She coughed again, the sound echoing in the emptiness surrounding her.

_Hiccup will be here soon,_ she told herself. _What are you afraid of anyway? It's not like you've ever been in the woods alone before._

Astrid thought about the time she'd shadowed Hiccup in the forest near the cove and seen Toothless for the first time. She smiled to herself, remembering how they'd tried to attack each other.

Another twig snapped.

Astrid whirled around. The forest looked and sounded empty. There weren't even any birds.

A whoosh came from above the trees. Astrid tensed, and picked up a rock on the path.

Toothless broke through the cover of trees and landed in front of Astrid. Astrid smiled in relief. "Hiccup." She tried to make her voice sound casual, but Hiccup noticed the slight tremor.

"What's wrong?" He asked, dismounting Toothless and coming over to her side.

"Nothing," Astrid said.

"Why are you holding that rock?"

Astrid dropped the rock. "Oh, I was just picking up rocks... for my rock collection?"

Hiccup frowned. "Astrid. We both know you don't have a rock collection. What's going on?"

"Nothing happened," Astrid said. "I just heard an animal in the woods and it made me a little nervous. And now that you've made me admit that, can we go now?"

"Yeah," Hiccup said. He looked around the woods.

"Hiccup, I'm sure it was just some animal or something," Astrid said.

"Right." Hiccup walked back over to Toothless and mounted. He reached down a hand to help Astrid up. He frowned after she was situated. "Astrid, your hands are like ice."

Astrid tried to hold back a cough, but failed. "I'm fine. Just cold."

"C'mon, bud," Hiccup said to Toothless. When Toothless continued staring into the woods, Hiccup placed a hand on his shoulder. "Toothless? What's the matter? Do you smell something?"

Toothless sniffed, then growled. "Right, well, we'll be getting out of here now," Hiccup said. "Whether it's a deer or not, we've got to get Astrid warmed up."

They took off and flew the few minutes to the house. Toothless landed in the yard and Hiccup and Astrid dismounted.

The door to the house opened and a slender woman in her mid-thirties ran out. "Oh, you're soaked!" She reached Hiccup and Astrid and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Come in, please! We've got to get you out of the cold."

She took Astrid by the arm and led her inside. Hiccup turned to Toothless. "Wait here, bud." Toothless sat down like an overgrown puppy and placed his head between his paws.

Hiccup smiled and followed the women inside. The inside of the house smelled like warm bread and soup. The first level was small, but comfortable. A set of stairs leading to what Hiccup assumed would be the bedrooms stood on the far wall. A wooden table with four chairs around it took up the middle of the room, and a large fireplace on the left wall filled the room with warmth. Astrid sat in one of the chairs in front of the fireplace.

The woman came down the stairs with a bundle of dry clothing, Ro following carrying a thick blanket. "You can change upstairs," she said, handing Astrid the bundle. Before Astrid could protest, she continued. "And come back down and we'll get you some soup to warm you."

"Thank you," Astrid said. She turned and walked up the stairs.

Ro set the blanket down on one of the chairs, then sat down on a different one and watched her mother.

The woman turned back to the fireplace and stirred something in the large black pot hanging above it. She stood up and noticed Hiccup there for the first time.

"And you're our chief's son, and the hero that saved my children's lives," she said. Her blue eyes reflected a genuine gratitude. "We owe you. We don't have much, but-"

Hiccup shook his head. "We don't need anything. We're just thankful we were able to get to your children in time."

The woman smiled. "I cannot thank you enough."

Hiccup smiled back. "Don't mention it."

The woman tucked a strand of her flaming red hair behind her ear, and extended her hand. "I'm Fiona."

"Hiccup." Hiccup shook her hand. "Though I suppose you already knew that."

Fiona smiled again. "Everyone's heard of our brave Hiccup the dragon trainer."

Hiccup felt his face grow warm. He was saved from coming up with an answer by the door opening and Davyn and Aric coming in with armfuls of wood.

They set them down next to the fireplace. "Mom," Davyn asked. "If it's okay with Hiccup can we go look at his dragon?"

Fiona turned to Hiccup. "Would that be alright?"

"Of course!" Hiccup said. "Toothless loves people."

The boys grinned and ran out the door. "Wait for me!" Ro cried, following after them. Davyn stopped and scooped her up into his arms and went out the door.

"You have wonderful children," Hiccup said.

Fiona smiled as she watched the kids playing with Toothless. "I know." She turned away from the window, took a bowl and spoon and dished up some soup from the pot. She extended it to Hiccup.

"Oh, you don't have to," Hiccup started, but Fiona cut him off.

"Please," she said. "It's the least I can do."

Hiccup accepted the bowl. "Thank you."

Fiona smiled. "Thank _you_." She pulled out a chair and gestured for Hiccup to do the same. Hiccup obliged and sat down, tasting the soup.

"Now," Fiona said, her smile fading. "Can you tell me what happened exactly?"

Hiccup nodded and set down his spoon. "Astrid and I were out riding on my dragon, Toothless. We heard roars and cries coming from the beach so we came to see what was wrong. When we got there we found three sea dragons surrounding the boat with your children inside. Toothless and I distracted the dragons while Astrid got the boat closer to shore, then I took the kids the rest of the way on Toothless." He paused. "I'm afraid your boat was destroyed."

Fiona nodded. "It's alright." She looked down at her hands and sighed, then back up at Hiccup. "Again, thank you so much."

"You're welcome," Hiccup said. He smiled.

The stairs creaked and they both turned. Hiccup stared. Astrid came down the stairs in a simple, yet beautiful blue dress that matched the bright hue of her eyes. She tugged at one of the embroidered sleeves and smiled to Fiona. "It's beautiful," she said.

Fiona smiled back. "You look beautiful in it."

"Did you make it?" Astrid asked, sitting down on one of the chairs.

Fiona nodded and stood up to get Astrid a bowl of soup. "I did. It's my job- well, one of the many. I'm a seamstress."

"It's wonderful," Astrid said.

Hiccup realized he was staring and glanced down at his soup.

Fiona set a bowl in front of Astrid and placed the blanket around her shoulders.

"Thank you," Astrid said. "I feel warmer already."

"Good," Fiona said. "I was worried you might get sick."

"So was I," Hiccup said, before he realized that he'd said it out loud.

Astrid looked up at him and smiled. "You worry too much."

"Yes, well, it's my job," Hiccup said, then mentally kicked himself.

"Who said?" Astrid teased.

"Um, me." Hiccup took another bite of his soup. "This soup is wonderful," he said to Fiona, trying to change the subject.

She smiled. "Thank you."

"So, I didn't know anyone lived this far out from the main village," Astrid said.

Fiona shrugged. "We get into town a few times a week. Other than that we're pretty busy up here trying to get the harvest in before it gets any colder."

Hiccup looked out the window where the kids played with Toothless. Davyn helped Ro reach out her hand and touch Toothless' snout.

Fiona followed Hiccup's gaze. She sighed. "Dav loves dragons so much. I would love for him to go to your dragon academy, Hiccup."

Hiccup turned to her. "He's very welcome to come!"

Fiona sighed again and shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't spare him right now. It's getting so cold, and if we don't get the harvest in soon..." She trailed off and paused. "It's going to be a hard winter." She looked down at her lap. "Things have been... difficult since my husband passed away."

"I'm sorry." Astrid said, placing her hand on the woman's arm.

Fiona looked up and smiled sadly at Astrid. "I hope you don't think I'm complaining. We have a good life."

Hiccup decided to voice the idea tumbling around in his head. "Fiona, what would you think of Davyn coming to the dragon academy if I came up here and helped you with the harvest?"

Fiona's eyes widened. "I couldn't ask you to do that!" she said.

"You're not asking," Hiccup said. "I'm offering. I want to help you."

"I wouldn't mind coming up to help either," said Astrid.

"But you've already done so much for us!"

Hiccup shook his head. "If it means Davyn can come to the academy, it's nothing."

Fiona hesitated. "Are you sure...?"

"Positive," Hiccup said.

Fiona smiled, on the verge of tears. "Hiccup, you're an amazing young man, did you know that? I know why your father speaks so highly of you."

Hiccup felt his face grow warm. "It's nothing."

Astrid coughed. Hiccup looked over at her. "I'm fine," Astrid protested.

The door opened and Ro peeked in. She walked up to Hiccup and looked up at him shyly.

"Can I do something for you, miss?" Hiccup asked.

Ro giggled. "You called me miss."

"That's because you are. You're a lovely little lady." Hiccup smiled at her. He looked over to the window. The two boys pressed the faces up against the pane. Toothless sat right behind them. Hiccup guessed what they wanted and looked back down to Ro. "Would you like to go for a ride on Toothless?"

Ro's face lit up. "Yes!" she cried, grinning.

Hiccup looked over to Fiona. "Would that be alright?"

Fiona smiled. "Certainly."

Hiccup grinned at Ro. "Well, then what are we waiting for?" He stood up and looked over to Fiona and Astrid. "I'll be back in a little while."

Hiccup took Ro's hand and walked out of the house with her, his metal leg clicking on the wood floor.

Astrid smiled as she watched Hiccup help the three kids up on to Toothless and take off.

"He's a wonderful young man, Astrid," Fiona said.

Astrid smiled. "I know." She turned away from the window and took another bite of soup. She looked at Fiona. "I hope you don't mind me asking, but Fiona isn't a Viking name, and your accent isn't from Berk either. Where are you from?"

Fiona smiled. "I don't mind you asking at all. I was born and raised in Ireland."

"What brought you to Berk?" Astrid asked.

"My husband, Vidar, was from Berk," Fiona answered. "He was a merchant. We met when he traveled to Ireland." She smiled. "You know you've found the right man when you would follow him to the ends of the earth to be with him."

Astrid looked out the window. She could just catch glimpses of the black Night Fury as Hiccup flew the children around. "I think I know what you mean."

"I hope I'm not intruding. But has he... shown interest?" Fiona asked.

Astrid looked back. "I don't know. Sometimes I think he's going to ask, but either someone else interrupts, or he changes the subject."

Fiona placed a hand on Astrid's arm. "If it's meant to be, he'll find the right time."

Astrid sighed. "Sometimes I wonder. I wonder if I'm the right one for him. I think... I think he deserves so much more than what I can give him."

"Astrid, have you seen the way he looks at you?" Fiona asked. "It's clear he doesn't want anything you can't give him."

Astrid felt her face grow warm. "You think?"

"I do," Fiona said. "From the little bit I've seen of you two, I can tell by the way he looks at you."

"Lots of boys think I'm pretty," Astrid said. "How do you know it's not just that?"

"Because Hiccup doesn't look at like he thinks you're pretty. He looks at you because he thinks you're beautiful." Fiona smiled. "I can see in his eyes, not only that he thinks you're beautiful, but he respects you."

Astrid bit her lip, and looked up at Fiona. "Really?" she whispered.

Fiona stood up at embraced Astrid. "Really," she whispered back.

#

Later that day, Hiccup sat at the dinner table with his father.

"So, Hiccup," Stoick said. "How did the ride with Astrid go?"

Hiccup poked at his food with his fork. "Well, it was... unexpected."

"Oh?"

Hiccup sighed and told Stoick about rescuing the kids and seeing the boat.

Stoick frowned. "A purple sail?"  
Hiccup nodded. "Yes."

Stoick stroked his beard. "I don't recall any of our ships having a purple..." he paused, the shook his head. "No."

Hiccup shrugged. "It was probably nothing."

Stoick nodded absentmindedly. Hiccup watched his father, wondering what he was thinking. Stoick noticed Hiccup watching him and shook his head. "So, did anything else happen on the ride?"

Hiccup poked at his food again, then shook his head.

Stoick watched his son, not sure what to say. Finally Hiccup looked up. "Tell me about you and Mom."

"What do you want to know?" Stoick asked.

"How..." Hiccup paused, trying to find the right way to phrase it. "How did you... ask her?"  
Stoick smiled. "Ah. Well..." He leaned back in his chair. "It was in the middle of DevastatingWinter. A huge snow storm was blowing in, and your mother and I were trying to make it back to the Great Hall. There had been another dragon raid that night, so we had been out fighting." He paused, thinking. "The snow was getting so bad we could barely see each other. We had to hold hands so we didn't get separated. We got lost. We knew we wouldn't be able to survive the night if we didn't find shelter quick. We were able to make a makeshift shelter out of a fallen tree, and huddled underneath it. I tried to start a fire, but couldn't get it to light. We were so cold we couldn't feel our fingers. I was so terrified that we weren't going to make it, and I'd never get another chance." He smiled. "So I blurted out, 'Valka, if we make it back alive, will you marry me?' She was so surprised. After a minute, she stood up and said, 'Stoick Haddock, we'd better make it back alive.' We stood up right then and found our way back."

Hiccup smiled, but didn't look up from his plate. After a moment, he said, "I just don't know... how."

"Just ask."

"But..." Hiccup sighed. "I'm afraid."

Stoick stood up and placed a hand on his son's shoulder. "You know what, Hiccup? I was too."

Hiccup stared. Stoick the Vast _afraid?_

Stoick smiled. "Yes, I was afraid. I've been afraid other times as well."

Hiccup sighed again and looked back to his plate. "Dad, do you think that... we're right for each other? I mean, do you think I deserve her? Don't say yes just because I'm your son. I need to know."

Stoick nodded. "Yes. I do think you're right for each other. And you know what, son? The fact that you _don't_ think you deserve her, means that you do."

Hiccup looked up, but said nothing. After a minute he whispered, "Thanks, Dad."

Stoick smiled. "You're welcome."

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**A/N: **Oh, yeah, almost forgot. I wrote this before _Riders of Berk_ aired, so this is a completely separate universe, or storyline if you will. Anyway, again, like I said, if I take more than a week to update, pleasepleaseplease poke/annoy/pester/knock me upside the head. For now, hope you enjoy, and if you don't mind, drop me a review! :) I love to hear what you all think!


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N:** Yay, I'm updating! :D :P Don't have anything else to say right now, so I'll shut up and let you read.

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**Disclaimer:** Again again with the not owning the characters you recognize, and with owning the OCs.

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CHAPTER THREE

Hiccup woke up before sunrise the next morning. He yawned, and sat up in bed. Reaching for his prosthetic leg, he strapped it on and stood up. He started towards the door, tapping Toothless on the head to wake him up. "C'mon, bud. Early morning today. Got to help Fiona."

Toothless opened one eye and stared at Hiccup, then groaned and closed it again.

Hiccup rolled his eyes and poked Toothless again. "Toothless. C'mon. You don't want to make me walk all the way up to Fiona's, do you?"

Toothless opened both eyes this time, grunted as though to say yes, then stood up and stretched.

Hiccup smiled. "Thank you."

The two crept out of the house, careful not to disturb Stoick. Once outside, Hiccup strapped on Toothless' harness and climbed aboard.

They flew silently over the village to Astrid's house. Toothless landed in front of her door. Hiccup frowned. "Astrid said she'd be up and waiting for us."

Toothless rumbled. Hiccup dismounted and walked up to Astrid's window. He tapped softly on the pane, then leaned up against the sill and crossed his arms, waiting.

After waiting a minute and getting no response, he tapped again. He looked to Toothless. He didn't feel comfortable looking through her window, but he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do. Toothless shrugged.

"You're a lot of help," Hiccup muttered. He tapped one more time. After a moment, Astrid appeared at the window, eyes red and sleep bleared. She opened the window and leaned out. "Hiccup! I'm so sorry. I'll be out in a second." She disappeared back inside again, coming out the front door a few minutes later.

She walked up to Hiccup and Toothless. "I'm so sorry, Hiccup. I guess I overslept."

Hiccup looked at her and frowned. "Astrid, are you okay?"

"Yes," Astrid said, a little too quickly. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"You look really tired."

Astrid shrugged. "I am. I'll be fine though." Before Hiccup could question her further, she hurried off. "I'll get Stormfly and we can head up to Fiona's."

Hiccup watched her, a slight frown on his face. Astrid never overslept. He shook his head and climbed back onto Toothless.

Once Astrid had gotten Stormfly ready, the four of them flew towards Fiona's. The light of the rising sun cast everything in a pink haze. Hiccup looked over at Astrid. She stared ahead at nothing in particular. Her face didn't have all of it's usual color, and her shoulders slumped a little.

"Astrid?" Hiccup asked, concern in his voice. "What's wrong?"

Astrid blinked and sat up. "Nothing."

"Astrid..."

"Really," she protested.

Hiccup opened his mouth to say something more, but Astrid nudged Stormfly to fly past Toothless. "Race you!"

Hiccup tried to shake off his concern and grinned, nudging Toothless. "Hey!"

Toothless caught up with Stormfly and started pulling ahead. Astrid nudged her dragon and the Nadder cut in front of Toothless.

Hiccup grinned, and directed Toothless to fly below Stormfly, and came up in front of her.

They dodged in and out from each other, neither one holding the lead for long until they reached Fiona's. Toothless touched the ground a second before Stormfly. Astrid pretended to scowl, but her eyes shone with merriment. "We'll beat you on the way home."

Hiccup laughed. "Oh, sure."

The riders dismounted and walked over to the field, where Fiona and Davyn were already hard at work with sickles, cutting down the wheat and binding it into bundles.

Fiona looked up and waved. "Good morning!"

Hiccup and Astrid waved back. "Good morning," Hiccup said. "What can we do to help?"

Fiona gestured to a spare sickle leaning up against the fence. "One of you can use Aric's sickle. He usually helps us, but he's not feeling well today. The other one could milk the yaks in the barn."

Hiccup turned to Astrid. "Yaks or wheat?"

"I'll take the yaks," Astrid said, heading towards the barn. Hiccup nodded and picked up the sickle, coming up next to Fiona.

They worked for a few hours. After Astrid finished milking, they started rotating, three of the four working at a time, the other relieving the next after a while.

Hiccup noticed Astrid still didn't seem to be feeling herself, so he tried to lessen her burden as much as possible. By the annoyed look on her face, he could tell she knew what he was trying to do.

About midday, they broke for lunch. Afterwards, Astrid and Hiccup climbed back onto their dragons, Davyn riding behind Hiccup. They took off for the academy. Astrid nudged Stormfly and they flew ahead. She looked back and grinned. "Race?"

Hiccup looked back and Davyn. "Want to race?"

Davyn tightened his grip around Hiccup's waist, but grinned. "Yes."

Stormfly took off, and Toothless zipped after her. The race went about the same as last time, but at the last moment, Stormfly pulled ahead and landed in the arena of the dragon academy before Toothless.

Astrid dismounted, looked up at Hiccup and grinned. "Told you."

Hiccup rolled his eyes, smothering a grin. "We let you win."

"Oh, yeah, right." Astrid smirked.

The rest of the dragon trainers were there already, Snotlout with his dragon Hookfang, Fishlegs with Meatlug and Ruffnut and Tuffnut with their two-headed dragon.

"What took you so long?" Ruffnut asked.

"Yeah, you're late," Tuffnut said.

Ruffnut glared at her twin. "Next time you repeat what I say, I'm going to punch you."

Tuffnut grinned. "Well, technically, I didn't repeat what you said."

"I take that back." Ruffnut smacked Tuffnut in the face. "I'm going to hit you now anyway."

Hiccup rolled his eyes and ignored the twins. "We were helping someone." He gestured to Davyn. "Guys, this is Davyn. Davyn, this is Snotlout, Fishlegs, and the twins, Ruffnut and Tuffnut." He gestured to everyone in turn.

Davyn smiled shyly. "Hello."

The rest of the gang nodded and said 'hello' back.

Hiccup placed a hand on Davyn's shoulder. "Davyn's going to start training with us." Davyn's smile grew wider.

"The first thing you need to know," Snotlout said. "Is that I'm the best one here."

"Um, actually, I'm pretty sure that's Hiccup," Fishlegs said.

Astrid leaned closer to Davyn and spoke in an exaggerated whisper. "The first thing you need to know is don't listen to anything Snotlout has to say."

"Hey," Snotlout complained. "I said you're gorgeous, right? Don't you want to listen to that?"

Astrid reached out and pulled Snotlout's helmet down over his eyes. "No."

Hiccup tried to ignore the feeling of irritation that flared up every time Snotlout said anything to Astrid. He fingered something in his pocket, then turned to the rest of the group.

"Alright, guys. Let's get started showing Davyn some of the basic bonding tactics."

Davyn tapped Hiccup on the shoulder. "Um, Hiccup, I don't have a dragon."

Hiccup turned to Davyn. "Even though you don't have a dragon yet, you can start learning." He smiled. "And we'll see what we can do about getting you a dragon."

Davyn beamed.

The group showed Davyn how to approach a dragon, palm out, and to get them to touch your hand. After a while, they moved on to show him some basic flying maneuvers. They took to the sky, Davyn riding behind Astrid this time.

"Think you can fly her?" Astrid asked.

Davyn gaped. "Me?"

Astrid smiled. "That's part of what you came to learn, isn't it?"

Davyn stared wide-eyed, but nodded. Astrid smiled and landed. She dismounted and climbed to the back. After a few final instructions, Davyn took off.

Hiccup watched Astrid show the boy how to control Stormfly. He smiled, but after a minute, he noticed Astrid was looking pale again.

He nudged Toothless to fly alongside Stormfly. "How's it going?" He asked.

Davyn grinned. "Great."

"Astrid?" Hiccup asked, staring at her. She shook her head.

"Oh, fine." She smiled, but Hiccup could see it didn't have all her normal life. "Davyn is doing a fantastic job."

Hiccup stared at her. She looked away. Before Hiccup could press her further, the rest of the young adults flew up alongside them. Astrid leaned over to Davyn and started giving him instructions again.

They spent the next little while flying, and practicing tricks. After a while, they landed back in the arena. Hiccup dismounted and walked over to Davyn and Astrid. He grinned up at him. "You did great for your first flight, Davyn."

Davyn smiled back. "Thank you."

Hiccup held out a hand to help him down, then turned to Astrid, offering her the same hand. Astrid pretended not to see it, jumping down herself. When she hit the ground, she swayed and stumbled back a step.

"Astrid!" Hiccup reached out to catch her. She shrugged of his hands.

"I'm fine," she snapped. "Just tripped."

Hiccup frowned, but before he could say anything else, the rest of the group came over, arguing about something.

"I'm telling you, it had a purple sail," Tuffnut said.

Hiccup froze. He turned to Tuffnut. "What did you say?"

"When we were flying, Ruffnut and I saw a ship with a purple sail," Tuffnut said. He jerked a hand towards Snotlout and Fishlegs. "And they don't believe us."

"Well, I wouldn't believe you either," Ruffnut said. "'cept I saw it."

"Come on," Snotlout said. "There aren't any ships on or around Berk that have purple sails."

"My dad's a fisherman, so I've seen all the ships we have," Fishlegs said. "And none of them have purple sails."

"Astrid and I saw a ship with a purple sail yesterday," Hiccup said, frowning.

"You did?" Fishlegs asked.

"See?" Tuffnut said. "Hey, wait a minute, why do you believe him and not us?"

"Maybe it has to do with the fact that we're always playing tricks on people," Ruffnut said.

"Oh." Tuffnut paused. "Yeah, you're probably right."

Hiccup turned to Fishlegs. "And you're sure there aren't any boats on Berk with purple sails?"

Fishlegs nodded. "Just about every color but purple."

"Then where did it come from?" Hiccup wondered out loud.

"I don't know, and I don't care," Snotlout said. "So it's a fisherman from somewhere else, or something."

"But _where_?" Hiccup asked.

"Fiona said she came from Ireland," Astrid said. "It could be a merchant ship."

Hiccup shrugged. "Could be." He paused, then decided to shake it off. He turned to Davyn. "Let's get you back home."

Davyn grinned. "I can't wait to tell Mom about everything."

With a wave to the others, Hiccup, Astrid and Davyn mounted the dragons, Davyn riding behind Hiccup again.

When they got back, they didn't see Fiona in the fields. They landed, then walked up to the house. Davyn opened the door and ran inside. "Mom!" he cried. "Guess what!"

Smiling, Hiccup and Astrid followed him in. Fiona stood over the fireplace, cooking something. She smiled as she listened to Davyn tell all about what he had done. After he finished, she hugged him and said. "I'm so glad you got to go, Dav." She pulled back and smiled. "I'll need you to work extra hard the rest of the day though."

"Oh, I will!" Davyn cried.

"Starting with getting me some more firewood."

"Yes, ma'am!" Davyn ran out the door, closing it behind him.

Fiona turned to Hiccup and Astrid, face full of joy. "Thank you so much," she whispered. "You've made his week."

"You're welcome," Hiccup said. "We're glad he could come. Will he be able to come tomorrow, if we come up in the morning and help?"

Fiona nodded. "I think so."

Hiccup smiled. "Great. Well, I better go get started in the field again."

Fiona opened her mouth, then closed it again. "But, Hiccup!"

"What?" Hiccup asked. "I didn't say I was just going to work in the morning. I'll work here for a few more hours, then I'll come back tomorrow."

Tears sprang to Fiona's eyes. "Hiccup, I... I don't know what to say."

"Don't say anything," Hiccup said, and smiled.

"Thank you," Fiona whispered.

"You're welcome." Hiccup smiled again and headed out the door, Astrid behind him. When he reached the field, he picked up a sickle, then realized Astrid was looking at him, smiling.

"What?" Hiccup asked.

"You're wonderful Hiccup. Did you know that?"

Hiccup's face burned, and he turned and started attacking the wheat with his sickle. "No, I'm not."

"Yes, you are. And don't bother trying to deny it, because this argument is over with, and I've won." Astrid picked up another sickle and started alongside him.

"Well, you're wonderful too," Hiccup said.

"No, I'm not."

Hiccup looked over at Astrid. "Yes, you are. And stop trying to deny it, because I've won this argument."

Astrid stuck her tongue out at him and laughed.

Hiccup put his hand in his pocket and fingered the object within. He chewed on his lip. Before he could find the right words, Fiona came out and picked up the third sickle and started working next to the two.

Hiccup pulled his hand out of his pocket.

They worked for another couple of hours, then after breaking for supper, Hiccup and Astrid waved good bye and climbed onto their dragons.

"Race you?" Astrid asked, smirking.

Hiccup shook his head. "Nah, I'm not going home. I'm going to go watch those sea dragons and see what I can learn about them."

"Alright," Astrid said. "Be careful."

Hiccup smirked. "Who, me?"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Toothless, don't let him kill himself, will you?"

Toothless shook his head. Hiccup laughed. "Nope, I've got way too much to live for." With a final wave, he nudged Toothless and they flew towards the beach where they had seen the sea dragons the previous day.

They landed, and Hiccup dismounted, staring out at the water. He spotted a ripple about the spot where they'd saved the kids yesterday. A gray scaly back appeared for a moment, then disappeared beneath the surface.

Hiccup sat down and pulled out his notebook. "Time to start taking notes, I guess, Bud."

Toothless plopped down beside Hiccup. Hiccup smiled and went back to staring out at the water.

After a few hours of watching the dragons, Hiccup realized the sun was starting to disappear behind the horizon. He blinked and stood up. He looked down at his notebook, and frowned. He hadn't gotten very much information. But it was just his first time of studying them.

"Tomorrow we'll fly out closer," Hiccup said, putting his notebook away and climbing onto Toothless.

They flew back into the village and landed in front of Hiccup and Stoick's house. They entered and found Stoick sitting in his chair near the fire. He looked up when they came in. "I was beginning to forget you knew where we lived," Stoick said.

"Yeah, sorry, Dad. Lost track of time." Hiccup collapsed into another chair.

"Long day?" Stoick asked.

Hiccup nodded. "Astrid and I helped Fiona with her harvest all morning, then took Davyn to the academy, then brought him back and worked some more. Then Toothless and I watched the sea dragons."

Stoick shook his head. "That was quite a day. Mine wasn't quite so eventful, but certainly... interesting."

Hiccup stared at the fire, suddenly feeling drowsy. "How so?"

"Well, we've received several reports all over the island of people seeing a ship with a purple sail."

Hiccup sat up. "Ruffnut and Tuffnut saw one today, too."

Stoick frowned. "That makes it the sixth sighting."

Hiccup frowned too. "Who are they?"

"And is there one ship, or more than one?" Stoick asked. He sighed. "I'm afraid we don't know."


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait again, everyone! I haven't been feeling well lately, and therefore haven't felt motivated to do anything, which is never a good excuse, but. :P Anyway, here's the next chapter! Sorry for the fluctuating lengths... I've just been breaking them off when it feels right.

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**Disclaimer: **Still don't own HTTYD. OCs mine.

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CHAPTER FOUR

The next morning, Hiccup found Astrid ready and waiting for him. They flew up to Fiona's and worked all morning. After lunch, they brought Davyn to the academy, then after a few hours, brought him back to his home and worked in the field some more.

Fiona tied up another bundle of wheat and stacked it next to the others. "I think we're going to be able to get it all in in time." She smiled and Hiccup and Astrid. "Thanks to you two."

"Don't mention it," Astrid said. "We're all going to need help to make it through this winter. It's supposed to be a bad one."

"Astrid, when was the last time we haven't had a bad winter?" Hiccup asked, smirking.

Astrid rolled her eyes and turned back to her sickle. "Where are Aric and Ro?" she asked Fiona. "I haven't seen them today."

The smile faded from Fiona's face. "They aren't feeling well." She tried to smile. "Knowing them though, they'll be up and running around in no time."

After working for a while longer, Hiccup and Astrid mounted their dragons and waved good bye. They went their separate ways, Hiccup again heading towards the coast.

This time, he didn't have Toothless land. Instead he directed him to fly out over the water, circling above the area they had last seen the sea dragons.

After a little while, three shadows moved underneath the water, breaking the surface one by one. They hissed up towards Hiccup and Toothless, lashing out towards them, but the Night Fury stayed safely out of their reach.

Once Hiccup had Toothless go down lower so he could try to show the dragons they were friendly, but they snapped at them, forcing Toothless to fly higher again.

After a few fruitless hours, Hiccup turned Toothless towards home.

The next three days passed the same.

On the fourth day, Hiccup arrived at Astrid's house to find her waiting for him, but not as he had expected. She leaned over on Stormfly, eyes closed and face flushed.

"Astrid!" Hiccup dismounted, and ran over to her. She opened her eyes and sat up.

"Oh, Hiccup. Ready to go?" She tried to smile, but the normal life in her eyes wasn't there.

"Not until you tell me what's going on," Hiccup demanded. "I know something's wrong with you, Astrid. Tell me."

Astrid didn't look at him. "Nothing's wrong. Why would anything be wrong?"

"Because you're clearly sick and you aren't telling me."

"I'm not sick," Astrid protested. "I'm just... not feeling well."

"That's the same thing, Astrid," Hiccup said.

Astrid shrugged. "I'll get over it."

"You need rest," Hiccup argued.

"No, I don't. I need to help Fiona. Winter's coming soon. It might even start snowing this week."

"But-" Hiccup started. Astrid cut him off.

"I'll be fine. Now we've got to get started, or we'll be late." She nudged Stormfly and took off into the sky, leaving no choice but for Hiccup to get back onto Toothless and follow her.

That afternoon, after Hiccup, Astrid and Davyn had returned from the academy, Hiccup pulled Fiona aside. "I need to talk to you," he said.

"Okay," Fiona said. "What can I do?"

"It's about Davyn," Hiccup started.

"Is something wrong?" Fiona asked, concern plain on her face.

"No!" Hiccup said. "Quite the opposite. Davyn is showing a lot of progress at the academy. But..." he paused. "I think he needs a dragon." He paused, then continued. "I know it's another mouth to feed, but they can really help, with protection, and this winter you won't need to worry about getting a fire started."

Fiona smiled. "Dav would love that," she said. "Do you think he's ready?"

Hiccup nodded.

Fiona's smile grew wider. "Then I would love to have a dragon here."

Hiccup smiled back. "Great! Can I tell him?"

"Of course!"

Hiccup walked over to where Astrid sat telling the story about how she'd met Toothless to the three kids. Aric and Ro's faces were slightly flushed, and they coughed every once in a while.

They all looked up when they heard Hiccup approach. "Davyn, I have a question for you," Hiccup said.

"Okay," Davyn said, curiosity in his eyes. "What?"

Hiccup tried to keep a blank face. "You've been performing very well at the academy." He paused. "And I've been thinking... I think it's time for you to get a dragon. Would you want one?"

Davyn's eyes grew wide. "Really?" he cried.

Hiccup grinned. "If you want one."

Davyn jumped up. "Yes!"

"We gonna get a dragon?" Ro asked, clapping her hands.

"How about looking for one out tomorrow?" Hiccup asked.

Davyn nodded, grinning. "Yes!"

"Sounds great," Hiccup said. "Now I think we'd better get back to work."

Davyn nodded, ran and picked up his sickle. He ran up next to Fiona in the fields. "Mom! I'm going to get a dragon!"

Fiona coughed, then beamed. "I know!"

Astrid stood up and looked at Hiccup. "You just made his day, you know that?"

Hiccup smiled. "Yeah, well."

Astrid smiled back, then picked up another sickle and headed towards the fields. Hiccup smiled at Aric and Ro, then followed her.

As Hiccup was working, he found a bluish gray stone. He held it up to the light. It shimmered an interesting color, so he put it in his pocket to show Ro later.

As he reached into his pocket, his fingers brushed up against cold metal. He squeezed the object. In the busyness of the past few days, he'd nearly forgotten it. He looked over at Astrid. She worked away, chatting with Fiona.

He pulled his hand out of his pocket and started working again. Every once and a while, he would look over at Astrid, running through what he was going to say in his head. And every time he would shake his head and try to think of a different way to phrase it.

After a while, Fiona straightened and started walking towards the house. "Hiccup, could you lend me a hand with something?"

"Sure," Hiccup called. He set down his sickle and walked after her.

Inside the house, Fiona turned and looked at him.

"What do you need?" Hiccup asked.

Fiona crossed her arms. "I don't need anything. You need to just do it."

"Do what?"

"Don't pretend not to know what I'm talking about."

Hiccup realized what Fiona meant. He felt the blood rush to his face. "I, um..."

"I've seen the way you watch her, Hiccup," Fiona said. "Why don't you ask?"

Hiccup looked down at the ground. "I..." He sighed. "What if she says no?"

"There is a possibility that is what she will say," Fiona said. "And if she does, it will be because of one of two reasons. One, she's not ready, and in that case, you wait until she is. Two, she's not interested, and in that case, it will hurt. A lot. But instead of asking what if she says no, ask what if she says yes? Isn't the possibility of her saying yes, worth the risk of her saying no?"

Hiccup looked up and gazed at Fiona for a moment. "Fiona, would it be alright if Astrid and I took a break?"

Fiona smiled. "Certainly."

Hiccup turned and ran out the door, his hand in his pocket. He ran into the field. "Astrid!"

She looked up. "Hiccup, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Hiccup said. "Come here, I've got to take you somewhere."

"But, what about..."

"Fiona said we can go for a minute," Hiccup interrupted. "Come on!" He reached out and took her hand, running towards Toothless. They mounted the Night Fury, Astrid staring at Hiccup like he'd gone crazy. "Hiccup, what-"

"Just wait," Hiccup said. He nudged Toothless and they took off into the sky. Hiccup leaned over and whispered into Toothless' ear, "To the cove."

"Hiccup, what on earth are you doing?"

"Just wait," Hiccup repeated. He smiled. Fiona was right. They'd land in the cove where Toothless had been trapped when they'd first met. They would sit down on the rock they had dubbed their's, and he would...

"Hiccup!"

Astrid's concerned voice broke him out of his thoughts. "What?"

Astrid pointed below them to the right. "Hiccup, the ship..."

Hiccup followed the direction she pointed to, and stared. The purple sailed ship.

Hiccup nudged Toothless. "Go in, bud. It's time we found out who they are and what they're up to."

Toothless flew down towards the ship. But before they got close enough to see the people on board, an arrow whistled past Hiccup's ear.

Toothless dived to the right, avoiding a second arrow.

A burst of anger flared up inside Hiccup. Not because they fired at him, but because Astrid was there. He had to keep her safe.

"Return fire, Toothless," Hiccup said. "But just beyond the ship. Don't hit it."

Toothless obeyed, sending a burst of blue flame into the water in front of the ship. They responded with another arrow, this one piercing Toothless' artificial tail fin.

Hiccup felt his control snap. They started falling down, out of the sky, towards the water. Astrid tightened her grip around Hiccup's waist.

The wind tore at them. Toothless strived to pull up out of the downward spiral. Hiccup struggled to direct Toothless towards the nearest cliff. Every second meant more loss in control.

They crashed onto the grass. Hiccup and Astrid tumbled off Toothless' back to the ground. Hiccup scrambled over to Astrid's side. "Astrid!"

She opened her eyes and looked up at him, smiling weakly. "Well, I think we've figured out that they're not friends."

Hiccup smiled slightly. "Are you okay?"

Astrid nodded, and sat up. She gasped and grabbed her head.

"Astrid!" Hiccup set his hand on her shoulder.

"I'm... fine..." She gasped. She stood up, and would have fallen back to the ground if Toothless hadn't caught her with his wing.

Hiccup jumped to his feet. "Astrid, that's it. You're not fine, and you're not denying it any longer."

Astrid looked at him, trying desperately to keep the look of pain off her face. She opened her mouth to say something, but swayed and fell into Hiccup's arms.

"Astrid!" Hiccup wrapped his arms around her, trying to keep her up. He brushed a chunk of hair falling in her face away, his fingers brushing against her forehead. "Astrid, you're burning up."

Astrid looked up at him wordlessly. She tried once more to stand on her own, but collapsed again, her eyes closed. Hiccup caught her. "Astrid," he whispered.

She didn't open her eyes.

"We've got to get her back home," Hiccup whispered. He lifted her up in his arms, turning to Toothless. He glanced at the arrow in Toothless' prosthetic tail fin and sighed. "I guess we're walking."

Hiccup started walking in the direction of the main village, Toothless walking beside him, helping support him when Astrid's weight started getting to heavy for him to carry.

The sun faded beyond the horizon. Hiccup could see the lights of the village not far ahead. He stumbled into the village.

"Toothless, find a doctor," Hiccup commanded. Toothless bolted past Hiccup, disappearing behind some of the houses. Hiccup continued on towards Astrid's house, his arms nearly screaming with exhaustion.

Hiccup made it to the door of Astrid's house. He banged on the door with his prosthetic leg. A moment later, a large Viking woman opened the door, gasping, a hand covering her mouth when she saw Astrid unconscious.

She stepped aside and let Hiccup in. He staggered into the house, lying Astrid down on a bed. He brushed some of her hair out of her face with a trembling hand.

"What happened?" Astrid's mother demanded.

Hiccup turned around. "I don't know," he said, trying to keep his voice calm. "She just collapsed. I noticed that she didn't seem to be feeling well the past few days..."

Another knock sounded at the door, and it open inwards to reveal the doctor and Toothless standing there. The doctor bustled into the room, asking questions and looking Astrid over. He asked Hiccup about her symptoms, and Hiccup tried to answer them as best he could. His head was spinning and his muscles trembled.

After Hiccup had answered everything the doctor wanted to know, the man asked politely if he wouldn't mind getting out of the way. Hiccup nodded, and with a glance back at the unconscious form of Astrid, stepped outside.

Toothless cocked his head and rumbled. Hiccup looked up at him, not saying anything. He leaned up against Toothless, staring at the door to the house.

A little while later, the doctor exited the house. His eyebrows arched a little when he saw Hiccup still waiting there.

"How is she?" Hiccup whispered.

The doctor shook his head. "I'm not sure. I can't figure out why she's sick. I've never seen anything like this before. From the little I could gather from you and her mother, she should just have a cold, or the flu. I don't know why she's unconscious."

Hiccup bit his lip. "What can I do?"

"Nothing," the doctor said. "I'll keep an eye on her, but there's nothing you can do."

Hiccup tried to shove down the feeling of helplessness. "But there has to be _something_ I can do."

The doctor shook his head. "Hiccup, I'm afraid all you can do is go home." With that, he turned and walked away.

Hiccup looked back at Astrid's house for a moment, then turned to Toothless, fingering something in his pocket.

Toothless' eyes showed genuine sympathy and sorrow. Hiccup sighed. "I guess we go home."

The two started towards Hiccup's house. Hiccup pushed open the door and walked in, head down.

Stoick looked up and smiled. "Hiccup!" He stopped when he saw the look on his son's face. "What's wrong?"

Hiccup sat down in a chair next to the fire. "Astrid's sick," he said, his voice flat. "She's unconscious, but the doctor doesn't know why."

"I'm sorry," Stoick said, his eyes showing a genuine concern. "But you know Astrid. Nothing keeps her down for long."

Hiccup nodded, placing his head in his hands and rubbing his throbbing head. Toothless sat down next to him and leaned his head against Hiccup's leg.

Stoick coughed.

Hiccup looked up. "Dad?"

"Just a cold," Stoick responded.

Hiccup stared at his father, but before he could say anything, the door burst open.

The two men and the dragon turned to see Davyn standing in the doorway, panting and eyes wide. "Hiccup! Mom and Aric and Ro..." He took a deep breath, then continued, his voice trembling. "They're sick. I don't know what's wrong. Mom's unconscious and won't wake up."


End file.
